A health “revolution” has started in Bradford with the creation of the country’s first GP centre.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson yesterday officially opened England’s first health centre which will offer people access to GPs when they need it – even on Christmas Day.

Speaking exclusively to the Telegraph & Argus at the Hillside Bridge Health Care Centre in Barkerend, Mr Johnson took the opportunity to criticise those who had campaigned against Government plans for a total of 152 new health centres across the country, open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, 365 days a year – an investment in primary care of £250 million.

The Bradford centre, in Butler Street West, is run by Local Care Direct, a social enterprise organisation, and was built through the Local Improvement Finance Trust. Representatives from both the organisations as well as Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust, attended the official opening.

After touring the facilities and meeting staff and patients Mr Johnson praised those present for being quick off the mark in delivering the first GP-led health centre and said there was clear enthusiasm within the local community for the centre which will offer GP appointments 12 hours a day with no need to be registered or book an appointment, with a guarantee that patients would be seen within half an hour.

It will also offer a range of other services tailored to local health needs, after consultations with the community and GPs.

“What I have been hearing from representatives of the local community and patient groups is what a revolutionary facility this will be in this area,” said Mr Johnson.

“People can come here and access services such as sexual health services, podiatry services, speech and language therapy. People with long term conditions like asthma – rather than traipsing off to a hospital and a making a long journey – can be seen here in the community.

“It is really brilliant and it is what we envisaged GP-led health centres would be all about. Quite why there was a campaign against this is beyond me. This quite clearly refutes the allegations that were being made.

“Many of the people involved in the campaign knew that they were, quite frankly, talking rubbish and how could Her Majesty’s opposition oppose something that is so valuable to communities?

“It is not about replacing existing GP services, it is about enhancing them. The whole point about this is to provide extra capacity, not to damage existing GP services.

“There were various arguments from the BMA about what this could mean for their members – we were very much on the side of the patients.

“Patients should be able to access primary care, which is the gateway to the health service, much more easily and at times that are suitable to them, not suitable to the health care professional.”

Mr Johnson described as “ludicrous” the suggestion by campaigners that the new health centres would lead to a privatisation of GP services.

“Just as a point of fact, since 1948 all GPs have been independent contractors to the health service so in a sense it has been private anyway,” he added.

“We expected the majority of these contracts to be won by consortia of GPs and I am really pleased Local Care Direct won this one because it is a social enterprise, it is putting stuff back into the community and they are very much focused on tackling health inequalities so that is another reason why the campaign was disingenuous.”

Pam James, chairman of the People’s Health Forum in Bradford, said: “This area of Bradford has long been short of doctors and this new service will help the local communities as well as those from a wider field.”

e-mail: claire.lomax @telegraphandargus.co.uk